【04】是否苗条与基因有关吗？

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Being slim: Is it in our genes?
苗条是由基因决定的？减肥难易跟基因也有关？
Neil: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Neil and joining me for this is Dan.


大家好，欢迎来到六分钟英语。我是尼尔，这次和我搭档的是丹。
Dan: Hello.
大家好。
Neil: And can I say Dan, you're looking very slim - it looks like your diet is working!

丹，我能说你看起来很苗条吗？看起来你节食有效啊！

Dan: This is my normal figure - and I have not been on a diet. But it looks like you've actually put on a bit of weight.

这是我的正常身材，而且我没有节食。但是看起来你的重量确实增加了一些。

Neil: Well I may have a little paunch - or a fat stomach - but didn't you know that it's out of my control? Some of this has to do with my genes - not the ones I wear - but the cells in my body that control my development. That's what we'll be discussing in this programme.

嗯，我可能有点大肚子——或者胖乎乎的肚子，但是你不知道这不是我能控制的吗？其中一些与我的基因有关——不是我穿的牛仔裤（此genes非彼jeans）——而是我体内控制发育的细胞。这就是我们今天节目要讨论的。

Dan: However our audience might describe themselves - tubby and overweight or thin and skinny, which means very thin - they're more than welcome to join us on this voyage of discovery. So let's start with answering a question.

不过，我们的听众可能会形容自己——胖嘟嘟的，超重的，或者瘦瘦的，瘦骨嶙峋的，瘦骨嶙峋是指非常非常瘦——他们非常乐意加入我们的探索之旅。节目开始之前，我们先来提一个问题。

Neil: What's the name of the popular diet that involves avoiding eating carbohydrates and in which you can eat as much fat and protein as you like? Is it... a) the Mediterranean diet, b) the Atkins diet, or c) the Graham diet?

不吃吃碳水化合物，想吃多少脂肪和蛋白质就吃多少脂肪和蛋白质的这种流行饮食法的名字是什么？是a)地中海饮食法，b)阿特金斯饮食法，还是c)格雷厄姆饮食法？

Dan: I've heard of the Atkins diet, so I'll say b).

我听说过阿特金斯饮食法，所以我选b)。

Neil: Well, you'll have to wait a bit to find out. But Dan, you may have also heard of a crash diet - that's where someone makes a rapid change to the types of food they eat with the aim of losing weight quickly.

嗯，你得等一会儿才能知道答案。但是丹，你可能也听说过速成减肥法——也就是人们为了快速减肥而迅速改变所吃食物的种类。

Dan: Yes, I know that eating this way can be risky for your health and they don't always work.

是的，我知道这样吃会危害你的健康，并且并不总是有效。

Neil: That's true and now scientists have some evidence that shows that our weight is not just controlled by what we eat. So it might be quite natural for someone to be thin or fat - it's all to do with their genes. Research published in the journal PLOS Genetics, explains how twin studies have shown that about 40% of the variation in a person's weight is affected by their genes. And also, why thin, but healthy people have genetic advantages in terms of maintaining a healthy weight.

这是真的，而且现在科学家有一些证据表明，我们的体重不仅仅是由我们吃什么控制的。因此，一个人瘦或者胖可能是很自然的——这都和他们的基因有关。发表在《公共科学图书馆·遗传学》杂志上的一项双生研究表明，一个人体重中约有40％的变化受到基因的影响。还有为什么苗条又健康的人在保持健康体重方面有遗传优势。

Dan: So that means that losing weight isn't just about having willpower - that's controlling your own behaviour to achieve something - it's actually about something that's out of our control?

所以那就意味着减肥不仅仅是意志力的问题——控制自己的行为来达到某个目标——它实际上是我们无法控制的事情？

Neil: Yes, possibly. Let's hear from the study's author, Sadaf Farooqi, who is Professor of Metabolism and Medicine at the University of Cambridge, and has been a pioneer in the genetics of obesity for more than twenty years. Obesity, of course, is where someone is very overweight, in a way that is dangerous for their health. Here she is speaking on the BBC World Service programme, Health Check. What does she say might be one of the benefits of this research for people who are overweight?

是的，有可能。我们听听该研究的作者萨达夫·法鲁克的观点。她是剑桥大学代谢与医学教授，二十多年来一直是肥胖遗传学方面的开拓者。肥胖，当然是指某人超重，在某种程度上那对他们的健康有害。这是她在BBC环球广播Health Check节目上的讲话。她说这项研究对超重人群的好处之一是什么？

Sadaf Farooqi, Professor of Metabolism and Medicine at the University of Cambridge

萨达夫·法鲁克，剑桥大学代谢与医学教授

It actually can be very helpful in trying to get them to come to terms with some of the difficulties they may be having but also help them engage with help and support to try and encourage weight loss... I hope one of the main outcomes of this work might be, to a little bit, to start to get people thinking about that. Because people are very judgemental and tend to think, look if I can stay thin and control my weight why can't you? And what I would say to that is, well the data now shows that you're probably quite lucky in terms of the genes that you have rather than just being either morally superior or having better willpower.

这项研究实际上非常有助于让大家接受自己可能遇到的一些困难，同样也能帮助他们获得帮助和支持，尝试并鼓励他们减肥……我希望这项工作的主要成果之一是让人们开始思考这个问题。因为人们很爱评判别人，并倾向于认为如果我能保持苗条，控制体重，你为什么不能呢？对此我想要说的是，好吧，现在的数据表明，在基因方面你或许相当幸运，而不仅仅是道德上有优越或者意志力更强。

Neil: Some interesting thoughts there. For people who are overweight, this research can help them come to terms with the struggle they may be having to lose weight. When you come to terms with something, you start to accept the difficult or unpleasant situation you are in.

那是一些有趣的想法。对于超重的人来说，这项研究可以帮助他们接受自己减肥或许会存在困难。当你接受某事时，你开始接受困难或接受你所处的不愉快的处境。

Dan: So I suppose she means accepting that if you're trying to shed a few pounds unsuccessfully, it's not all your fault. And it may stop people being so judgemental - that's so quick to criticise people based on their own beliefs.

所以我想她的意思是，如果你想减肥却没有成功，那也不全是你的错。它可能会让人们不再那么武断，不再那么快地根据自己的信仰去批评别人。

Neil: A slim person might say, "Well, I ate less and lost weight, so why can't you?" - and now we know things aren't quite that simple. You are just lucky to have the right genes but it doesn't make you 'morally superior'.

一个苗条的人可能会说：“嗯，我吃得少了，体重就减轻了，那你为什么不能呢？”——现在我们知道事情没有那么简单。你只是幸运地拥有了对的基因，但这并不会让你变得“道德高尚”。

Dan: So it's not just about having willpower.
所以这不仅仅是意志力的问题。
Neil: This research is much more detailed of course than we have time to explain here but for someone who is overweight, will they feel defeated?

这项研究当然比我们在这里解释的要详细得多，但是对于超重的人来说，他们会感到挫败吗？

Dan: Absolutely not, according to Professor Farooqi. For people who are obese, this research is helpful. Not only should it give them hope, it could lead to the develop medicines to help them.

根据法鲁克教授的说法，绝对不会。对于肥胖的人来说，这项研究是有帮助的。这不仅会给他们带来希望，还可能导致人们研发药物来帮助他们。

Neil: But as genes only play a part in our size and weight, we should all eat a healthy diet and do some exercise. And there is always new research about the best things to do and the right things to eat.

但是由于基因只对我们的体型和体重起作用，我们大家都应该健康饮食和做一些运动。而且总有关于最佳行为和正确饮食的新研究。

Dan: Recently, research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, said that bursts of high intensity interval training may be more effective for weight loss than longer less intense workouts. A burst is a sudden and short increase in something.

最近，发表在《英国运动医学杂志》上的一项研究称，间歇性高强度训练可能比长时间低强度训练更有助于减肥。“burst”是指某物突然而短暂的增加。

Neil: Even if diets don't help you lose weight - eating the balanced diet can certainly keep you healthy and make you feel good. And as I'm talking about diets, why don't I answer the question I asked you earlier? What's the name of the popular diet in which you should avoid eating carbohydrates but you can have as much fat and protein as you want? Is it... a) the Mediterranean diet, b) the Atkins diet, or c) the Graham diet?

即使饮食不能帮助你减肥，均衡饮食也能让你保持健康，让你感觉良好。既然我正在谈论饮食，那我何不回答一下我之前问你的问题呢？不吃吃碳水化合物，想吃多少脂肪和蛋白质就吃多少脂肪和蛋白质的这种流行饮食法的名字是什么？是a)地中海饮食法，b)阿特金斯饮食法，还是c)格雷厄姆饮食法？

Dan: I said the Atkins diet.
我说是阿特金斯饮食法。
Neil: And that is correct, well done. This well-known low-carb diet was developed by the American physician and cardiologist Robert Atkins in the 1960s. Others low-card diets are available!

回答正确，做得很好啊。这种著名的低碳水化合物饮食法是20世纪60年代由美国内科医生和心脏病学家罗伯特·阿特金斯发明的。其它低卡饮食法也是存在的。

Dan: Neil, I think it's time we reminded ourselves of some of the vocabulary we've discussed today.

尼尔，我觉得是时候回顾一下我们今天讨论的一些词汇了。

Neil: Good idea. Let's talk about paunch - another name for a fat stomach that men like me - and you - have.

好主意。让我们来谈谈大肚子(paunch)——胖乎乎的肚子的另外一个叫法，像我和你这样的男人都有。

Dan: Speak for yourself! I'm closer to skinny - a word to describe someone looking very thin and sometimes ill. Our next word was willpower. If you have willpower, you can control your own behaviour to achieve something.

说的是你自己！我更近乎于极瘦的(skinny)——形容某人看起来很瘦，甚至瘦到有点病态的一个单词。下一个词是“意志力”（willpower）。如果你有意志力，你就能控制自己的行为来实现目标。

Neil: The next phrase, come to terms with something means you start to accept the difficult or unpleasant situation you are in.

下一个短语“come to terms with something”指的是你开始接受困难或者接受你所处的不愉快的处境。

Dan: If you are judgemental, you are quick to criticise people based on your own beliefs.

如果你爱评判别人（judgemental），你会快速根据自己的信仰去批评别人。

Neil: And finally, we mentioned a burst of high intensity interval training. A burst is a sudden and short increase in something.

最后，我们提到了间歇性高强度训练。“burst”是指某物突然而短暂的增加。

Dan: Well we've had a burst of vocabulary there and it's time to say goodbye. Please join us next time.

好了，我们已经学了大量的词汇，是时候说再见了。下期节目再见啊。

Neil: And of course don't forget our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Goodbye.